Basilica Of Santa Maria Maggiore Di Siponto on:
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The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto is a church approximately three miles south of
Page at Gargano Online website
by Stefania Mola {{Authority control Maria Maggiore Di Siponto Manfredonia Romanesque architecture in Apulia 6th-century establishments in Italy Churches in the province of Foggia Churches completed in 1117 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto is a church approximately three miles south of Manfredonia
Manfredonia is a town and commune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, from which it is northeast by rail. Manfredonia is situated on the coast, facing east, to the south of Monte Gargano, and gives its name to the gulf to the east of i ...
, Apulia
it, Pugliese
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, southern Italy. Once the cathedral of the city of Siponto, it received the status of Basilica Minor
In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...
in 1977; it is dedicated to the Holy Virgin of Siponto (the town was moved to the new city of Manfredonia in the mid-13th century).
The church was completed around 1117, when it was consecrated (perhaps in place of a pre-existing 6th century Palaeo-Christian edifice) and the relics of Laurence of Siponto were placed under the high altar.
Description
The building has an unusual square plan, consisting of two independent churches (one, underground, is the currentcrypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
), two apses on the southern and eastern walls, and a medieval monumental portal with two side lions, facing the road entering Manfredonia.
The interior, with four pillars, dates to the 11th century, and once housed the icon of the Holy Virgin of Siponto (Italian: ''Maria Santissima di Siponto''), dated to the 7th century. The icon is now in the Manfredonia Cathedral, as well as the polychrome wood Byzantine statue of "La Sipontina" (6th century) The underground church dates to the early Middle Ages, and was replaced by the upper one after having been destroyed by an earthquake.
See also
*Siponto
Siponto ( la, Sipontum, grc-gre, Σιπιούς) was an ancient port town and bishopric in Apulia, southern Italy. The town was abandoned after earthquakes in the 13th century; today the area is administered as a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' ...
External links
*Page at Gargano Online website
by Stefania Mola {{Authority control Maria Maggiore Di Siponto Manfredonia Romanesque architecture in Apulia 6th-century establishments in Italy Churches in the province of Foggia Churches completed in 1117 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy